The romantic figure of the troubadour conjures up images of minstrels roaming the countryside with nothing but a lute and a love song. However, medieval accounts of these singer-songwriters paint a much more varied portrait of their lives and lyrics. As self-proclaimed “finders” of words and melodies, they explored commonplace subjects such as desire, spirituality, hope, hypocrisy, despair, and the complexities of relationships, all in their own language of Occitan. In this program, Trobár recounts the lives and re-enacts the art of the troubadours, both in the original Occitan and in English translations by modern poets, capturing the immediacy and vitality of the texts as experienced by their first audiences.

During the fourteenth century, Florence’s republican society fostered accomplishments in poetry, sculpture, architecture, and a varied musical culture. Trobár explores this milieu in a presentation of madrigals, ballate, caccias, laude, and dance music in a concert organized around the four seasons.

During the fourteenth century, Florence’s republican society fostered accomplishments in poetry, sculpture, architecture, and a varied musical culture. Trobár explores this milieu in a presentation of madrigals, ballate, caccias, laude, and dance music in a concert organized around the four seasons.

Married at fifteen, mother of three, widowed at twenty-five – such a description could apply to thousands of medieval women, but Christine de Pizan was no ordinary medieval woman. She supported her family as a professional writer, produced many works of poetry, wrote a manual on war and chivalry, and advised kings and nobles on politics. In her most influential work, Christine publicly engaged in epistolary debate with the intellectuals of her day, defending the value of women. She expanded her defense of women in other works, notably The Book of the City of Ladies. In this concert, we explore the music of the courts in which Christine grew up and worked, set side by side with readings taken from this latter book, painting an aural picture of women and their status in early fifteenth-century France.

For this project, Trobár is joined by actor Faith Whitacre who brings alive the words of Christine de Pizan.

This concert will be performed as part of the Catacoustic Consort concert series in Cincinnati, OH.

Trobár presents the story of a lavish thirteenth-century anthology of French music, known today as the “Manuscrit du Roi.” The diversity of its content makes it unique for its time, containing sacred and secular songs, vocal and instrumental pieces, works in three languages, and originally sixty-two miniature artworks. While much of its history remains murky, the manuscript itself gives clues as to why it was created and what it was originally intended to be. The gilded illuminations indicate the wealth and importance of whoever commissioned it and the multiple layers show it changing hands from owner to owner, with some of these owners having music added to empty corners or blank pages. Ultimately landing in the Bibliothèque Nationale, the manuscript also sheds light on former library practices in the preservation and maintenance of books. Come, gain a glimpse into the medieval experience through the music and images of a songbook fit for a king!

Spend the last night of Yuletide, Twelfth Night, on a musical journey through an early English Christmas season. Our ensemble of voices and medieval instruments brings to life sacred and secular selections of chant, carols, drinking songs, courtly love songs, and more. The concert will be followed by a reception exploring the smells and tastes of early England, featuring spiced hot wassail.

For this program, we will be joined by guest percussionist Allen Otte.

Married at fifteen, mother of three, widowed at twenty-five – such a description could apply to thousands of medieval women, but Christine de Pizan was no ordinary medieval woman. She supported her family as a professional writer, produced many works of poetry, wrote a manual on war and chivalry, and advised kings and nobles on politics. In her most influential work, Christine publicly engaged in epistolary debate with the intellectuals of her day, defending the value of women. She expanded her defense of women in other works, notably The Book of the City of Ladies. In this concert, we explore the music of the courts in which Christine grew up and worked, set side by side with readings taken from this latter book, painting an aural picture of women and their status in early fifteenth-century France.For this project, Trobár is joined by actor Faith Whitacre who brings alive the words of Christine de Pizan.

Married at fifteen, mother of three, widowed at twenty-five – such a description could apply to thousands of medieval women, but Christine de Pizan was no ordinary medieval woman. She supported her family as a professional writer, produced many works of poetry, wrote a manual on war and chivalry, and advised kings and nobles on politics. In her most influential work, Christine publicly engaged in epistolary debate with the intellectuals of her day, defending the value of women. She expanded her defense of women in other works, notably The Book of the City of Ladies. In this concert, we explore the music of the courts in which Christine grew up and worked, set side by side with readings taken from this latter book, painting an aural picture of women and their status in early fifteenth-century France.